FAIRFAX, Va. – The outcome had been decided long before Breanna Stewart allowed herself a small smile with just under a minute to go in the Seattle Storm’s 98-82 triumph Wednesday, the win that completed a sweep of the Washington Mystics and crowned Stewart’s Storm team WNBA champions.

Only after Sue Bird found her streaking to the basket once again through a lane in the Mystics defense did Stewart’s face register acknowledgement of the enormity of her success: a 30-point performance and a set of games that left no doubt as to who the best player in the world is right now: Stewart, the 2018 WNBA MVP and Finals MVP.

She took it all in – calm, matter-of-fact – similar to the way she plucks rebounds out of the air with her 7-foot-1 wingspan before anyone else can get to it. All of this was new, and yet, all of it felt like it had happened before, even to Stewart.